Piscataway, N.J. — Greg Schiano still believes that Gavin Wimsatt is still his guy at the quarterback situation. If that be the case quarterback whisper coach Nunzio Campanile has his work cut out for him.
Wimsatt looked solid in the first half but self destructed in the third quarter throwing three interceptions which helped Michigan (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten, No. 5 CFP) pull away in the second half and gave the Wolverines its ninth win of the season.
Wolverines signal caller J.J. McCarthy threw for two touchdowns and rushed for one, the No. 4 Michigan rallied from its first halftime deficit of the season to beat Rutgers 52-17 on Saturday night in front of 51,117 at SHI Stadium.
“To beat a team that’s a National Championship contender, you have to play clean football for 60 minutes. You have to do some things that are a little aggressive and be able to cash in on those things and that’s where we were in the first half. But the second half, the roof caved in there a little bit in that time period and it’s hard to go back and catch up.” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said.
DB Timmy Ward scored on a 7-yard return of a blocked punt, Jude McAtamney banged a 32-yard field goal and Wimsatt threw a 3-yard TD pass to Sean Ryan to give the Scarlet Knights (4-5, 1-5) a 17-14 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Wolverines ramped up the defensive pressure and forced Rutgers to turn the ball over. The second half miscues were the difference in the ball game.
McCarthy hooked up with wide-out Donovan Edwards on a go route for the go-ahead, 14-yard TD pass with 8:24 left in the third quarter. On the next Rutgers possession, Michael Barrett stepped in front of Wimsatt’s pass to Ryan and returned it to the 10-yard line. Blake Corum scored from 2-yards out for a 28-17 lead with 6:53 left.
Nine seconds later, Barrett scored on his interception return and basically sealed the game for the Wolverines.
“Our defense was really good in the first half. We got hit with some deep balls. It’s a matter of just getting better at seeing the ball in the air. If they throw a deep ball, let’s get our eyes on it, have some fun, and pick it off. Will Johnson did a great job, and Mike Barrett, what a game he had.” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said.
UP NEXT:
Michigan: Will host Nebraska on Saturday.
Rutgers: Plays will travel and play Michigan State on Saturday.
